Water Companies: Fines

Lord Tyrie Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Lord makes a helpful suggestion, and I am happy to take that back to the department.

[Lord Tyrie (Non-Afl)]

Have the Government made any assessment of whether fines on firms, as opposed to fines on individuals, have any effect on the performance of the companies concerned? It strikes me that unless fines, at least to some degree, bear down on individuals, we are unlikely to see an improvement.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We are working to ensure that the money that we get from fines is spent in the best possible way. We have had so many debates and questions around water from everybody in this House; what we need to do is tackle the problem for good and for the long term. We can talk about fines and about bonuses until we are blue in the face, but what we want to find is real change. That is what we are doing with the water White Paper, and what we will do with our water Bill.